


serenata

by wintercrystale



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff and Humor, Joshua and his guitar should have a relationship tag, M/M, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:26:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23718928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wintercrystale/pseuds/wintercrystale
Summary: Wonwoo is only trying to enjoy his lunch at the campus grounds when a pretty stranger suddenly serenades him with a guitar and an angelic voice. He can't say he minds, especially when he gets to know the stranger's name afterwards.a.k.aThe four instances Wonwoo remembers Joshua playing the guitar for him and the one time Joshua doesn't.
Relationships: Hong Jisoo | Joshua/Jeon Wonwoo, minor jeongcheol - Relationship
Comments: 9
Kudos: 49





	serenata

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jju_nyaa](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jju_nyaa/gifts).



> hello mai my sweet grandchild i have come to give you this💕 the idea came to me while i was on the way to classes one day, but i never got around to start writing it, but here it is! it is a word vomit fic as per usual, but i hope you enjoy it💕 (thank you anya for allowing me to suddenly scream in the dm for help on this fic i luv u)

**1.**

The day had been going well for Wonwoo. Or at least, he thought so. He woke up this morning feeling a lot like he had won something in life. Perhaps it’s just the effect of a good night’s sleep, but Wonwoo would love to think that it was an omen that the rest of his day would go just as well as his sleep had. He made breakfast this morning—a couple pieces of bacon and sunny-side up, a classic favorite—and went as far as making a lunchbox for himself.

It’s Monday. Ridiculously, it didn’t make any sense that it felt like such a nice day.

Mondays were supposed to be dreadful, Wonwoo wasn’t usually so fond of Mondays. He’s more fond of Tuesdays. Tuesdays were vibrant and cheerful. It could be the effect of Monday being the first day of the week and Tuesday had a schedule of Wonwoo’s favorite subject and early classes. Wonwoo loved spending Tuesday afternoons holed up in the library to revise the morning’s lessons and it always left him wanting to learn more. Sometimes he even found himself lurking around the TA’s room to ask about some things he didn’t understand.

 _This_ Monday felt fine. More than just _fine_ fine, actually. Wonwoo took his bike and cycled all the way from his shared flat with Mingyu to his department’s building that morning. Feeling the morning dew hitting his face was pleasant, though the wind was a bit chilly to breathe in.

The morning classes went great. The usual grumpy professor seemed to be in a bright mood today, as he didn’t snap at anyone the way he usually would on a Monday morning. Perhaps the omen Wonwoo thought of was right.

Wonwoo’s in a good mood, that much was clear. As clear as the sky above him that afternoon, in fact. It’s spring and the gust blew past him just perfectly, accompanied by the shy sunshine peeking from behind what little clouds the sky had. It had been a long time since Wonwoo took his liberty to appreciate nature, so he went to sit on the bottom row of the campus running track’s bleachers.

Not so much appreciating nature as it was just him staring at some people jogging on the track and occasionally losing himself observing the sprinklers working on the grass in the middle of the track. Who the hell thought it’s a nice idea to jog in the afternoon when they could be eating a homemade lunch like Wonwoo’s doing right now? Some people just didn’t know how to enjoy life—or perhaps that’s how they enjoyed life.

The one thing Wonwoo noticed about his surroundings was the bunch of people at the side of the track, speaking in a volume so loud he thought they weren’t so shady—as he initially thought they were, because really, they looked like a cult discussing illegal acts to do to conspire against the professors. Anyway, as far as Wonwoo’s concerned, he shouldn’t be a part of whatever shenanigans the cult should be up to at the moment.

Except, he found himself staring at one of the cult members—ahem, he meant a person from the bunch—walking slowly towards him.

At first, Wonwoo refused to believe it. He didn’t want his day to be ruined by a weirdo asking weird things to him in the middle of a nice sunny afternoon. But then, the person got closer and closer and as it’s awkward for them both if Wonwoo kept staring, Wonwoo gave the stranger the courtesy of looking away.

The apple slices in his lunchbox suddenly looked so fascinating. Wonwoo scrutinized them as he took one and plopped it whole into his mouth. He prayed that maybe the person would just take the hint and leave him alone even before reaching Wonwoo. Or maybe the person wasn’t walking up to him. Or maybe it’s just an imagination and the person didn’t exist. Or maybe—

Wonwoo didn’t manage to think of any proper excuse for this odd human behavior as he’s startled by the stranger propping one leg up on the bench right beside where Wonwoo was sitting. It’s clear to him now that this weirdo of a stranger was _actually_ walking up to him and meaning to do something to him. He stared in bewilderment, eyes as wide as saucers, as the stranger brought up a guitar and supported it with his propped up leg; all the while staring at Wonwoo with a serious gaze without saying anything thus far.

Then, the stranger smiled and flipped his bangs—dare Wonwoo say, the stranger was gorgeous despite the incredibly weird act he’s doing right now. Dark brown hair, light skin, pretty eyes; Wonwoo couldn’t find a reason not to be drawn to the stranger’s beauty. Admittedly, if the stranger was a thirty-year-old something man with a mediocre face, Wonwoo would’ve fled the scene as soon as possible. It would’ve been creepy.

Well this was creepy _._

But the stranger was _gorgeous_.

“I’m so sorry for this, please forgive me.” The confident look on the stranger’s face faded to show a sheepish expression as he smiled lopsidedly. “But will you help me?”

Wonwoo made the act of chewing his apple slice and swallowing it before clearing his throat. Okay, so the stranger spoke. The predicament was weird, what with this stranger caging him against the bleachers in a really odd way and asking for help, but maybe Wonwoo didn’t mind. He’d had a nice day after all.

“How may I be of help?” Wonwoo sealed the lunchbox with its lid before putting it away, deeming his lunchtime finished as he’s faced with an abominably foreign situation.

“I was dared by my friends over there—” the stranger cocked his head at the direction of where his friends were, “—to serenade you with a song or two with my guitar.”

Wonwoo raised an eyebrow. Usually, silly dares like these would be done if the person had a terrible voice or a penchant for playing air guitar but no real guitar. It couldn’t be that bad. What nice friends the stranger had.

Amusingly enough, Wonwoo didn’t really have anything to do with the rest of his break—except finishing his apples—so he agreed willingly to help.

The stranger’s eyes brightened. “Great! Now, then.” He cleared his throat and readied his stance on the guitar, leg still propped up awkwardly to cage Wonwoo where he sat.

Maybe the gesture was actually a silent plea for Wonwoo not to go, or maybe his friends told him to specifically do that for the dare. In the corner of his eye, Wonwoo caught the stranger’s friends starting to film the whole thing with a phone camera.

“I hope you like Maroon 5’s Sunday Morning.”

Before Wonwoo had the chance to open his mouth and say he quite liked the song, the stranger already started strumming his guitar and opened his lips to sing.

Good God, Wonwoo was stunned.

The stranger had a sweet and soft voice fit for singing lullabies. The way he concentrated with his fingers strumming the right chords and singing the right notes, it was mesmerizing. Wonwoo was wrong. Perhaps the stranger’s friends thought it would be funny if he started serenading a random bystander, but nothing about this was funny.

It’s outright nice. Never once in his life had Wonwoo have someone singing to him so passionately like this. For a split second, Wonwoo let himself close his eyes to enjoy the melody this stranger was creating. The way this stranger sang the words perfectly as if he was a native English speaker, Wonwoo didn’t miss. It’s almost perfect. Wonwoo enjoyed that and let himself believe that this stranger was somewhat of an odd gift to make this day even better.

The stranger’s rendition of Sunday Morning had the second verse omitted as he went straight to the ending tune, fingers strumming the last chord with the lull of his voice lingering after. Wonwoo wouldn’t have minded if the stranger had sung the full song, but maybe it’s for the best that he stopped right there.

Wonwoo opened his eyes as if he was awoken from a trance, which wasn’t far from the truth. The stranger finally put down his leg and hugged the body of his guitar with one hand, lips curling up into a smile as he reached out his hand to offer a handshake.

“I’m sorry, that was rude of me.” The stranger bit his lip, hugging his guitar even tighter against his body, the oddity of the situation only dawning on him right then as his eyes went wide. “My name is Joshua Hong.”

A pretty name, how befitting.

Wonwoo reached out his hand to welcome the man into his wide circle of acquaintances. “I’m Jeon Wonwoo.”

Perhaps, Wonwoo had unknowingly welcomed the stranger into a major part of his life, too. It was a life changing day, that’s why it felt nice, Wonwoo just hadn’t known yet.

  
  


**2.**

As it turned out, Joshua’s cultish bunch of friends happened to be a part of Mingyu’s friend circle.

Now, Wonwoo found out that Jeonghan and Soonyoung (two of Joshua’s friends) were the masterminds behind the dare Joshua did and Seungcheol was the one recording the whole thing.

“I still can’t believe you guys managed to find my serenade stranger and brought him here.” Joshua whined from where he was seated beside Seungcheol and almost headbanged onto the table had Seungcheol not stopped him.

They’re in the cafeteria now. It had become a routine of theirs ever since Mingyu and Soonyoung brought them all together and introduced each other. It had been, what, two months since the dare happened?

“It’s funny that you think I’m your serenade stranger because I‘ve always thought of you as the weird stranger.” Wonwoo grinned, forking a slice of mango from his tray and plopping it into his mouth.

Soonyoung cackled from beside Wonwoo and pointed his spoon at Joshua to mock him. “Stranger or not, you’re always weird.”

“Watch it.” Joshua squinted and made a gesture of pointing his middle and forefinger at his own eyes and then at Soonyoung’s. “I will _not_ play with the band at your festival again if you dare do me dirty like this.”

Soonyoung gasped theatrically with one hand hovering over his heart. “Fine, then. I can hire someone else to play the guitar.”

“If you replace me with someone else, I’ll just become Wonwoo’s personal bard for the rest of my life.”

From Wonwoo’s other side, Jeonghan snickered before flinging a sad piece of tater tot from his lunch tray at Joshua. The American-born gasped as he avoided the projectile of said tater tot, prompting it to fall onto the floor and lie there sadly. Joshua stared at it for a second before turning his attention back to Jeonghan and glared in disapproval.

“Some people out there have to scavenge the trash for food and you just carelessly throw it around like it’s a dog’s toy, Jeonghan.” Joshua clucked his tongue. “I am disappointed in you.”

There’s a small glint of guilt on Jeonghan’s face as he rested his cheek on his palm, but he didn’t want to admit defeat to Joshua, so he just petulantly said, “I’m sorry, I will behave from now on.”

Before Joshua could nod to accept Jeonghan’s weak apology, Jeonghan added with a grin, “It’s just that you’re so whipped for Wonwoo.”

The grin on Jeonghan’s face widened when Joshua coughed after choking on the milk he’s drinking. Soonyoung whispered conspiratorially as Joshua heard Seungcheol muttering _‘I did not say anything.’_ with both of his hands raised up.

The comical reaction amused Wonwoo, he wished Mingyu were here to witness the antics of these relatively new friends he brought into Wonwoo’s life.

“I am retiring from the band.” Joshua stood up and brought his guitar with him.

“Where are you going?” Seungcheol asked, not even regarding Joshua’s bluff of retiring.

“Off to be Wonwoo’s personal bard.” Joshua circled the table and shooed Soonyoung away.

The dancer whined but complied anyway, moving to sit where Joshua had left his seat empty. Basically, they just switched places so Joshua could sit beside Wonwoo.

“You know you just look more whipped like this.” Jeonghan smiled in amusement, moving also to sit beside Seungcheol so The Serenade Stranger and The Weird Stranger could once again share the world, just the two of them.

“Shush, I no longer receive commands from you.” Joshua started strumming his guitar next to Wonwoo.

“You’ve been singing and playing your guitar an awful lot during lunch breaks, you know,” Wonwoo spoke up.

“Oh, he always does that.” Soonyoung smiled widely. “It’s just that you’re the object of his serenades now, so he’s no longer playing his music just for the void.”

If Wonwoo saw Joshua’s ears tinged pink, he didn’t mention it. Though, he heard Jeonghan’s snicker once again and this time a crumpled piece of paper hit Joshua smack dab in the middle of his forehead.

Joshua looked at Jeonghan disapprovingly and started strumming his guitar.

“That reminds me. Have I told you that I’m in the middle of making a new piece with Seokmin?” Joshua looked at Wonwoo and experimentally played a single chord, then moved to the next one.

“Didn’t you say you retired from the band?” Wonwoo grinned.

“Oh, shush.”

Then, Joshua started playing the first few notes and hummed the lyrics lowly, as if unsure that he had sung it right. It still sounded raw, but Wonwoo loved it nonetheless. He loved the way Joshua was concentrating a bit more than he usually would when belting to famous pop songs.

On some parts, Joshua furrowed his eyebrows and changed chords a few times to find the right one, sang a bit more certainly, and then started bobbing his head to the cheery, romantic tune. It’s endearing, as if Joshua really was playing for Wonwoo only. Maybe it was just Wonwoo’s imagination, but he’d like to think it’s actually what was happening. An odd thought, maybe he should keep that to himself.

“How is it?”

Wonwoo didn’t realize when Joshua had finished the last of his still-far-from-finished piece, but he found himself face to face with a softly smiling Joshua whose legs started bouncing up and down from the sheer nervousness—but why should he be nervous?

Wonwoo blinked and tilted his head, eyes closing to rewind the tunes Joshua had just played. “I like it.”

When Wonwoo opened his eyes again, the smile on Joshua’s lips widened and his eyes gleamed. The expression looked beautiful on Joshua’s face, Wonwoo would love to keep it.

“Whipped, I told you.”

The crumpled paper made its way back to its previous owner; Joshua didn’t care that it didn’t hit Jeonghan though he would love to wipe that smug look off the angel’s face.

Wonwoo’s mind kept rewinding the tunes over and over, Joshua’s voice attached to the back of his mind and singing to him in his daydream.

  
  


**3.**

“I can’t, for the life of me, understand this equation the way it’s supposed to work.”

Wonwoo was sprawled on the floor, head resting on a pillow while he’s looking up at the paper in his hands in distress. He had his notes scattered around him, some of the words highlighted, some circled over and over with black ink with a huge question mark on it, some are crossed out after revision.

They definitely didn’t realize when their relationship had progressed from just strangers, to lunchmates with the rest of the friend circle, to study buddies. Somewhere along the way of their guitar serenading and listening, they’d become close. Odd, maybe. But it wasn’t like Joshua had slithered into Wonwoo’s life like normal people.

Joshua stared amusedly at Wonwoo from beside him and his notes shrine. He’s sitting cross-legged, guitar perched loyally on his lap while he plucked the strings randomly, unknowingly giving a background tune to ease Wonwoo’s stress from studying.

“You’ve been ruminating on that one equation for hours, you might want to move on to something else for now,” Joshua suggested absently.

“But it’s bothering me so much.” Wonwoo reached his hand up to rub on his tired eyes, lifting up his round glasses in the process.

“You still have two more days. Maybe you can ask Soonyoung for help tomorrow.”

“He’s not taking this class, it’s an option.” Wonwoo bit on the brush pen he’d been idly turning back and forth with his right hand. “Maybe I’d ask Jihoon.” but the voice came out muffled.

“Then you should sleep now, Won, it’s getting late.”

Wonwoo’s heart thumped in his chest at the nickname.

He fixed his glasses and turned so he would lie on his stomach to stare at Joshua. “I am just now realizing that I am hoarding space in this humble dormitory room of yours.”

They had agreed to study together in Joshua’s dormitory since his roommate a.k.a Seungcheol was off to court Jeonghan in one of their Friday date nights. Joshua swore those two could’ve made their relationship official if only Jeonghan would stop doing the push and pull game with Seungcheol. Alas, poor Seungcheol had to deal with the Jeonghan that kept saying “I don’t want a relationship right now” while smiling at Seungcheol and kissing him goodnight every time.

But enough about them.

Hours ago, Joshua was struggling with his Excel sheet so they’d both been busy with their own subjects to tackle. Two hours later, Joshua deemed he had a headache from seeing so many numbers so he just decided to take a rest for a while. He’d taken his guitar and started strumming to random chords he remembered for random songs. Sometimes he even hummed along to some tunes and witnessed Wonwoo bobbing his head a little to his rhythm.

Abandoning his assignments to observe a studying Wonwoo was worth it, Joshua thought. It’s fun watching the younger frown a lot and sometimes exhaling deeply yet slowly in frustration. The scatter of notes around Wonwoo started piling up as he kept putting his notes side by side to compare but didn’t bother to tidy them back again.

“I’m not sleepy, I drank too much coffee earlier.” Wonwoo smiled at Joshua, arms propping up his chin so he could look at Joshua better.

Joshua clucked his tongue and muttered something about _‘This is why you should stop drinking so much coffee.’_

“Perhaps I can serenade you to sleep,” Joshua offered then, one eyebrow raised and lips turning into a cheeky smile.

Truth be told, that sounded tempting. Wonwoo loved Joshua’s guitar serenades; he had taken to replaying certain notes and lyrics Joshua loved playing in his head. That would be embarrassing to admit out loud, but Wonwoo had really grown attached to the older’s tendency to shamelessly play some tunes out of the blue as somehow Joshua always had his guitar with him.

Though, the prospect of asking Joshua to lend his lap for Wonwoo to sleep sounded tempting, too. It would’ve been an excuse, that he needed something like that so he could sleep. He wondered what it would feel like to fit snugly on Joshua’s lap while having the older singing a lullaby to him and stroking his hair.

_That was such a domestic thought._

Seeing that Wonwoo had spaced out, Joshua shook his head fondly and moved to sit on the couch. When Wonwoo snapped out of his domestic thoughts, he saw Joshua sitting cross-legged on the sofa still with his guitar, patting the space beside him for Wonwoo to join.

When Wonwoo did, Joshua patted his shoulder to silently tell Wonwoo that he should rest his head there. It invited a raise of the eyebrow from Wonwoo, but Joshua only rolled his eyes and took the matter into his own hands. Wonwoo found himself involuntarily leaning on Joshua’s shoulder with the feel of Joshua’s fingers lingering softly on his cheek after he pulled Wonwoo just a second earlier.

“Do you have any request for your serenade?” Joshua started strumming another random chord.

Wonwoo’s contemplative hum vibrated on Joshua’s shoulder, making the older smile.

“I don’t have any preference, no,” Wonwoo voiced out in what sounded like a whisper, “I like it when you play anything, even if it’s one of those gibberish metal songs you sing when you’re stressed.”

Joshua let out a melodic laugh, causing his shoulders to bounce up and down along with Wonwoo’s head in the process.

Wonwoo didn’t protest, as he loved hearing Joshua’s stupidly endearing laughter.

“Liar, you hate my gibberish metal songs.” Joshua started to strum to one of his band’s songs.

“I mean, I’d hate you if you played one right now as a means of serenading me to sleep.”

“I have no such intentions.”

Wonwoo hummed in approval and started closing his eyes.

Then, Joshua continued playing his song. It’s the one Wonwoo recalled having the title ‘Pretty U’, one of the more cheerful and upbeat songs. Though, as it’s only Joshua singing with his guitar, he did a more toned down version of it.

It sounded like a lullaby to Wonwoo’s ears. Sweet, every single note and words of the lyrics. Especially because it’s Joshua’s voice and his soft strumming.

_“I want to pick and gather all the pretty words for you.”_

Wonwoo wanted to do that, too. But before he could thank Joshua for the lullaby, he found himself drifting to sleep. Joshua’s serenades were truly like magic.

The moment Wonwoo’s breath evened out, Joshua smiled and gently took off Wonwoo’s specs, placing them on his own head instead because he couldn’t reach the table in front of him without jostling Wonwoo awake.

When Seungcheol walked in on them in that position, he only raised an eyebrow and smiled amusedly. Joshua wanted to throw something at Seungcheol, but there’s nothing around him that could be thrown without waking up Wonwoo.

 _'Whipped,'_ Seungcheol mouthed with a comical expression.

But Joshua just ignored him when Wonwoo decided to snuggle closer, prompting Joshua to put his guitar down and circled his arm around Wonwoo's shoulder instead.

Seungcheol shook his head disapprovingly.

  
  


**4.**

Wonwoo didn’t remember how Mingyu managed to finally make him agree to go to the festival. Summer nights were awful, more so when the music’s loud and there’s a lot of strangers dancing against each other. Or actually, Wonwoo remembered that Mingyu told him Joshua would perform with the band a.k.a Jeonghan, Seokmin, Seungkwan, and Jihoon.

It’s too tempting, the prospect of seeing Joshua sing somewhere else more public, somewhere other than his dormitory, the cafeteria, or the bleachers. Joshua’s singing had always felt personal to Wonwoo, he’d like to know what it would feel like to be just one of the thousands of listeners instead of being the sole serenade stranger.

The hardest part of going was deciding the outfit for the occasion. Wonwoo wanted to wear his usual t-shirt and jeans and not dress up or anything. Mingyu kept whining that he should at least be one notch prettier than usual.

After a long debate, Wonwoo got to keep his jeans, but Mingyu decided that it should be a white button up shirt instead of a t-shirt. Mingyu also insisted that Wonwoo should wear contacts instead of his usual round glasses and wear his hair up. It’s a lot, but Wonwoo complied, thinking it would please Mingyu.

Though, in the end Wonwoo had to go to the festival _blind_ because he couldn’t wear contacts due to allergy and Mingyu forbade him from wearing glasses. Wonwoo almost fought Mingyu because of it, but then Mingyu agreed to hold on to his glasses and never leave his side during the entirety of the event.

Soonyoung whistled upon seeing the tall duo during one of the evening performances when they’re lurking around the food stalls instead of partying with the rest of the people in front of the stage.

“I see you’ve dressed up to see your boyfriend, Wonwoo.” Soonyoung hit Wonwoo’s shoulder lightly, teasing him for the way he unusually dressed up.

Unfortunately, not wearing glasses meant that Wonwoo wasn’t just blind, he’s also hearing impaired. It didn’t help that the festival was in full blast. Wonwoo just laughed, hoping what Soonyoung—it’s Soonyoung, he recognized the voice, he swore—said wasn’t a question. If it was, Mingyu was obligated to help him answer since he’s the one making him blind.

“Yeah, no, I had to dress him up so his boyfriend would be stunned if they meet tonight.” Mingyu grinned.

Wonwoo could still hear Mingyu’s voice, though, since Wonwoo’s holding on so tightly to Mingyu’s biceps in fear of losing him in the crowd. What the hell were they talking about? Whose boyfriend was getting mentioned?

Soonyoung clucked his tongue. “Come on, then. His boyfriend will perform next and I heard it’s a new song from the band.”

“That sounds exciting.” Mingyu tugged on Wonwoo. “Come on, then, the band’s about to start playing.”

“I’ll see you guys later backstage.” Soonyoung pocketed his hands and smiled, motioning for the two to haste to the stage.

The two made their way to the stage area, but Wonwoo refused to follow if Mingyu wanted to go to the front, so they stayed a bit further away from the stage.

When the party music stopped and the rock band bid their last goodbye, the cheer erupted from the crowd. The two large screens on each side of the stage displayed a triangular logo with a large ‘SEVENTEEN’ written underneath it. The band was actually quite popular among the students in the university. It helped that Jeonghan was such a social butterfly that he knew at least ten people from each department of each year.

“Good night, everyone. How are you doing tonight?”

The crowd erupted once more.

It baffled Wonwoo that Joshua was actually the one doing the greeting instead of Jihoon as the leader or Seokmin as the main vocalist who was standing on the center of the stage. Did they always change the one in charge of speaking to greet the crowd?

“It’s been a long time since we’ve greeted you on such a big stage.” Wonwoo couldn’t see it, not even if he had his glasses on, but he could hear the smile on Joshua’s lips.

Crazy? Maybe. But it’s not like Wonwoo had been sane since forever.

“We came here tonight with a new song to present.”

It made Wonwoo wonder if it’s the same song Joshua sang to him a while back in the cafeteria. Did they manage to turn it into a full song? Suddenly, he’s glad that Mingyu took him there today. He wanted to let Mingyu know, but he had a _reputation_ he had to hold up so he just slid down his grip and squeezed Mingyu’s forearm. The taller looked at Wonwoo quizzically, but decided to let it pass.

“It’s not a funky pop song that has fun and fresh lyrics that match our age on top of an addictive melody.”

The crowd laughed and Mingyu snickered from beside Wonwoo, knowing full well that it was Seokmin’s practiced speech of presenting their earlier song a while back.

“In fact, it’s….” Joshua reeled, as if thinking twice to say the next string of words. “It’s a song we’ve worked on for quite a while now. No sugar coated words, no exaggeration, just something akin to baring our hearts open for you to listen.”

When the crowd started chanting loudly for the band to start, Joshua took his chance to say something with the hopes that nobody would hear.

“This is dedicated to someone that I _know_ is in the crowd today.”

But Wonwoo heard it loud and clear.

He wondered if the rest of the crowd heard it, too.

Joshua started strumming his guitar the way he usually would when it’s just the two of them. The tune sounded somehow familiar, but where it would’ve been just acoustic sounds accompanying Joshua’s voice, now the song was completed by the companion of keyboard, bass, and the occasional drum.

It didn’t sound raw like the first time Wonwoo listened to the unfinished version of the song. It sounded… _alive_. It’s teeming with feelings. Now that Wonwoo listened to the lyrics, it sounded like a love song.

Some parts of the verses sounded like they could be a rap instead of a whisper-hummed singing. The chorus had a repeated question of _“What do I do?”_ sung in an exasperatedly fond tone and it made Wonwoo’s heart flutter that Joshua sang most of it.

The voice still sounded like it would if Joshua wasn’t on stage. Still that sweet and soft voice Wonwoo recognized, only distorted and amplified with the half-decent sound system. It obviously didn’t sound as personal as it usually was, as they’re singing it to a crowd of people.

But somehow, the parts Joshua sang reached out to Wonwoo’s heart and he held on tight to that feeling.

The world faded a little, leaving just Joshua’s soft voice getting carried from the speakers to Wonwoo’s ears. His hold on Mingyu started to loosen, prompting the younger to panic and hold on to his wrist instead.

After what seemed like an eternity, which also oddly didn’t feel like that long at all, the band ended the song with one last note; sending the crowd into another erupting cheer. It woke up Wonwoo from his trance.

If one was allowed to wish, Wonwoo wished the song was meant to be for him.

Especially as Wonwoo kept repeating the way Joshua sang _“Is it hard for you to sleep because of me too?”_ over and over in his head as if it wasn’t one of the more mundane parts of the lyrics.

“Thank you for listening, it was called ‘Oh My!’ and we have worked hard on making it,” came Joshua’s voice again, “For the next song, we have an old classic, ‘Happy Ending’. We hope you guys enjoy it!”

Mingyu clucked his tongue. “We’ve heard this one a lot of times. Come on, let’s just head to the backstage.”

Hearing Mingyu in the middle of the crowd was a feat in itself, but Wonwoo managed to catch what he said and nodded. Mingyu pulled Wonwoo’s wrist as they trudged their way to the backstage tents.

Finding Soonyoung wasn’t hard, he’s leaning against the railings, acting as the gate guard while he’s busy giving out orders with his comms. When he saw the two for the second time that day, he beamed a smile and opened the lock for the gate to let them in while still talking to his underlings. He gestured at one of the tents so they’d go first without him.

Mingyu diligently led the older to the tent. When they arrived, they knew for sure it’s the right tent because of the band name plastered to the archway of the entrance.

By the time they entered, the band had just finished their second song and were bidding their goodbye, so they wouldn’t have to wait for long until the five would arrive.

As they had a long day, Wonwoo whined to Mingyu about how he needed his glasses so he wouldn’t be blind anymore. Mingyu at first didn’t want to give it back, but Wonwoo lunged at him the moment the word ‘no’ left Mingyu’s lips. The taller yelped as Wonwoo stole the round glasses that had been dangling from Mingyu’s shirt collar the entire day.

When Wonwoo was in the middle of putting on his glasses, the entire band walked inside while talking to each other animatedly it sounded like a whole chaotic ruckus. Mingyu immediately greeted them one by one with a high five followed by a bro hug.

Upon seeing Joshua, Wonwoo was stunned. He wouldn’t have been able to see Joshua from so far in the crowds even if he had glasses on; the festival didn’t show the performers on the screens during the entirety of the evening session. Now that Wonwoo got to see him up close with the glasses he just wrestled from Mingyu, Joshua looked absolutely _glowing_.

Joshua was beautiful. Wonwoo had established that fact ever since he was still the weird guitar guy getting dared by his friends to perform to a complete stranger.

But, this Joshua? This Joshua had make-up glitters around his eyes and his hair was damp from sweat, along with his untucked t-shirt underneath a classic checkered button up. He’s wearing fingerless gloves for whatever reason there was and the electric guitar in his grip was definitely not the acoustic one he always brought along with him.

The thing that made _this_ Joshua different from _that_ Joshua was the captivating proud smile etched on his lips as the band exchanged congratulations between themselves and said their thank you to Mingyu for coming.

When Wonwoo caught Joshua’s gaze, the older stiffened and his smile vanished for a short second before reappearing again. Except this time, the smile was a bit nervous.

Jeonghan visibly nudged the band’s guitarist as Seokmin grinned widely and started whispering to Seungkwan about something.

“I brought Wonwoo as promised,” Mingyu said.

“Uh, hello.” Wonwoo smiled.

There was absolutely no need for Wonwoo to be awkward around the band since they’re his friends too ever since Mingyu had introduced them a while back. So he proceeded to congratulate everyone the way Mingyu did, leaving Joshua last on purpose.

The moment he’s face to face with Joshua, Seokmin cleared his throat and said something about getting hungry after singing so much. With that excuse, he dragged the rest of the band plus Mingyu minus Joshua very unsubtly out of the tent. Wonwoo wanted so much to facepalm and Joshua was ready for the ground to swallow them whole, but alas, they’re faced with each other.

Words usually came easy to Joshua, especially when he helped write his own lyrics for the band. This time, however, it seemed everything was stuck in his throat and it rendered him speechless.

Wonwoo took it in stride and started thinking of the normal things a _friend_ would say when they just finished watching their friend perform.

“You did amazing—”

“You look stunning—”

“Thank you,” they both said in unison, faces red as they realized they’d just talked over each other.

Wonwoo wouldn’t have thought getting complimented by Joshua could send his heart aflutter. He smiled at that.

Before Wonwoo could say anything else, Joshua hesitantly asked, “Did you… listen to the whole thing?”

“I listened to the first song, but Mingyu dragged me here the moment you guys started the second one saying we’ve heard it a thousand times already.”

At the mention of the first song, Joshua tensed.

“What… do you think about it?” Joshua bit his lip, hold tightening on the guitar he had with him.

“The new song?”

Joshua nodded.

Wonwoo started to recall the soft tune the band had carried earlier; the lyrics, the instruments playing just right, the way they all sang as if the words were true but Joshua’s voice carried them as if he meant every single syllable from the bottom of his heart.

_‘This is dedicated to someone that I know is in the crowd today.’_

But had Joshua known Wonwoo was in the crowd today? It was Mingyu who brought Wonwoo after much begging, after all. The band and Soonyoung only passed along the invitation without making sure of anything.

Suddenly, Wonwoo was hesitating about the whole ordeal of his feelings.

“I love the song,” Wonwoo said, purposefully omitting the part where he actually recognized it from the unfinished version Joshua loved humming to at random times; the same tune Joshua introduced to Wonwoo at the cafeteria some months back.

Joshua deflated a little. “Yeah?”

“Yeah, it suits the band a lot.”

_If one was allowed to wish, Wonwoo wished the song was meant to be for him._

But why would he wish that? It’s not like—

They both fell into a contemplative silence.

Wonwoo was rooted in his place while Joshua was growing conscious of himself by the second, thinking about _things_ he supposed they both knew were out in the open right then. It’s the song. The song bared Joshua’s heart open—

_‘If you keep making my heart flutter, what do I do?’_

—yet why was it that Wonwoo didn’t say anything? Had he been reading everything wrong? Did Wonwoo even hear how Joshua had said that the song was dedicated for _him_?

“It was you, right?” Wonwoo asked after a minute.

The sudden question startled Joshua. “What was me?”

“The one who wrote the lyrics?”

Joshua bit his lip. “Yes, with Seokmin’s help.”

“I thought I was imagining it, but every part of the lyrics sounded like a _you_ thing to say.”

How did Wonwoo realize that small of a detail when he couldn’t even tell that every single word was meant to be for him? Must Joshua really be blunt about it? Was Wonwoo dense or was he letting Joshua down gently?

God, Wonwoo even dressed up so nicely tonight. Who did he do it for? Joshua even saw the split second of Wonwoo putting on his glasses earlier, did that mean Wonwoo hadn’t been wearing it? The sight of Wonwoo’s hair being styled up didn’t miss Joshua’s attention either. Wonwoo looked pretty and a tiny voice in Joshua’s heart wanted it to be for him.

Joshua frowned. “Wonwoo—” He reached out to take Wonwoo’s hand, but felt the other flinching.

“Would you like to go catch up with the others?” Wonwoo asked without pause or any regard to Joshua’s call of his name; also not even bothering to retrieve his hand from Joshua’s hold.

“I have to tell you something first,” Joshua pleaded, hadn’t imagined that it would’ve gone this way.

Wonwoo hesitated and shifted on his feet, bit his lip before smiling. “You can tell me anything on the way to find the others.”

_What went wrong?_

Joshua hesitated before agreeing, knowing full well that his voice would get drowned in the middle of the crowd.

At least, Wonwoo let Joshua cling to his shirt cuff until they found Mingyu and the rest of the band. Jeonghan sent Joshua a very serious questioning look at the grim expression Joshua sported, but the guitarist didn’t say anything.

  
  


**+1**

Life at campus didn’t change much after the festival. Wonwoo still went to classes like normal, said his greetings to Soonyoung and Jihoon on a daily basis, ate at the cafeteria with the others, studied at Seungcheol’s dorm sometimes.

Except, it felt like a part of him was missing.

It’s not a mysterious ‘something is missing but he doesn’t know what’ kind of missing, it’s the kind of missing that was so obvious it’s almost painful.

No matter what Wonwoo did, it seemed like Joshua was avoiding him.

Whenever Wonwoo met Seungcheol and Jeonghan, Joshua wasn’t with them. Whenever he went to the cafeteria and saw that Joshua was actually there sitting with the others, Joshua would immediately spit out an excuse and bolt out of the room. Whenever Wonwoo asked to come over to Seungcheol’s dorm as an excuse to see Joshua, Joshua was never there.

Had Wonwoo said something wrong?

He kept thinking back to the night of the festival, rewinding Joshua’s voice on stage singing the song over and over like a broken record. He also thought back to the way Joshua looked when he saw Wonwoo backstage. Why did he have to look so nervous?

_“I have to tell you something first.”_

About what? About who the song was for? Wonwoo wasn’t ready to be let down like that, so he’d run away the best way he knew how.

The little voice in his head kept bugging him about it, though, saying he was stupid—the voice suspiciously sounded like Mingyu.

“For someone so smart, I don’t believe you sometimes.”

Wonwoo turned to his side after hearing the mumble when class ended that day. There was Jihoon tidying the notes on his table and dumping everything inside his tote bag. Before Wonwoo could question whether Jihoon really did say something, the shorter turned to him while fixing his snapback to tame his wild bangs.

“I’m talking to you, Wonwoo.” Jihoon grinned.

“Oh,” Wonwoo said dumbly, “I’m sorry, what is it about?”

Jihoon shook his head. “I was just thinking.”

When Wonwoo had finished tidying up his textbook, Jihoon continued, “Come on, walk with me.”

It’s not exactly odd for Wonwoo to be walking with Jihoon to either revise or eat in the cafeteria ever since he’s introduced to Joshua’s friends. Jihoon never specifically asked for Wonwoo to walk with him, though. Perhaps he needed to talk to Wonwoo about something.

“Have you spoken to Joshua after the festival?” Jihoon asked softly after a while of just walking.

At the mention of the name, Wonwoo’s heart thumped. “No, why?”

Jihoon sighed. “It’s just that…”

Wonwoo listened attentively.

“Joshua is around, you know.” Jihoon fixed his snapback again—taking it off, pulling his bangs back, and then putting it back on. “It’s just that his melody is muted.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“He still plays his guitar, but he’s just doing random chords and he hasn’t been singing at all.”

The thought of a silent Joshua made Wonwoo’s heart clench. His voice and his guitar… They’d been the two things Wonwoo’s always looking forward to. One without the other just never seemed right. Joshua _never_ not sang whenever he’s playing his guitar. Whether it’s just humming under his breath or fully belting out the perfect notes, Joshua _always_ sang.

It sounded like Joshua’s melody literally got muted.

“I just thought maybe something happened between you two?” Jihoon halted his steps and looked up at Wonwoo.

“Who, me?” To match Jihoon, Wonwoo also stopped.

Jihoon nodded and smiled lopsidedly. “He only got his confidence singing in public after he found out that _you_ love his voice and guitar playing ever since he was just a stranger to you.”

Wonwoo stared at Jihoon in confusion. “But he plays in the band with you guys.”

Jihoon shook his head no. “He’s usually just on the guitar. If he sings, it’s for harmonizing.”

But that night…?

“He never sang the main lyrics, let alone write or sing as much as he did for the last festival.”

Wonwoo frowned.

That didn’t make sense.

He had questions now that he needed to be answered.

“Don’t tell him I told you this, but he’s usually on the bench in front of his department building. This might be… a matter of the heart also.”

Sometimes, Jihoon understood beyond words and Wonwoo’s thankful for that. He thanked Jihoon verbally and excused himself before running off to where Joshua was supposed to be.

Wonwoo wished Jihoon had been right.

Oh—

It’s odd that Joshua and his guitar became such an unfamiliar sight nowadays. It had always been Wonwoo, Joshua, and that damned guitar. A little lonely that Wonwoo wasn’t in the picture too right then.

_When did it start to make sense that wherever Joshua was, it’s most likely that Wonwoo would be there too?_

Without any precautions, Wonwoo stepped in front of a sitting down Joshua on the bench, startling the older from his absent-minded chord strumming. Joshua’s eyes widened, probably thinking of running away but Wonwoo made sure that he stood up right in front of Joshua to prevent him from doing so.

“Why are you avoiding me?” Wonwoo asked in lieu of a greeting.

“What are you doing here?” Joshua asked back instead, refusing to be attacked so suddenly like that.

Out of any expressions Joshua could’ve put as a front, it’s those sad eyes Wonwoo first and last witnessed that night at the backstage. Wonwoo hated it, hated it more that it’s most likely him who caused such a pained look on Joshua’s beautiful features.

“I was looking for you,” Wonwoo answered, loud and clear. “Now, why are you avoiding me?”

Joshua sighed and looked down before he started strumming his guitar again. “I’m not having this conversation right now.”

“We have to.” Wonwoo tugged on Joshua’s chin and lifted it up, forcing the older to look up at him and yelp. “I don’t want you to avoid me anymore.”

The voice that came out next was softer. “I’m not avoiding you.”

“That is a lie.”

“No, it’s not.”

Wonwoo clucked his tongue, annoyed at Joshua’s weak excuse. He let go of Joshua’s chin, but the older didn’t let his gaze drop back down. Trusting Joshua not to run away, Wonwoo decided to plop down on the bench next to the older.

“Did I do something wrong?” Wonwoo murmured, voice almost inaudible if Joshua hadn’t been scrutinizing him and listening to every gesture of his lips.

“You didn’t.” Joshua took the opportunity to look at the ground again as he stopped strumming, opting to hug the guitar instead. “Maybe I did.”

“What do you mean?”

“Wonwoo.” Joshua sighed, as if it pained him just trying to say the next words out loud. “Didn’t you hear what I sang back then at the festival?”

Of course Wonwoo heard them loud and clear, the lyrics still ringing in his ears even after weeks of no repeat performance from anyone in the band. They hadn’t released the song to their website like they had been doing to their old songs, but Wonwoo remembered the way Joshua would sing the unfinished version time and time again; and his memory decided to reconstruct the whole song anew. Wonwoo didn’t know if the one he remembered was really the one the band had performed that night, or if it’s his rendition with only Joshua’s voice singing in it. Either way, the song still rang in his ears as if it was only yesterday.

“I told you I love the song,” Wonwoo said.

“Yes.” Joshua clucked his tongue. “But did you listen to the lyrics?”

_You’re like the summer without the overbearing heat. You’re the boiling point to my loneliness. I can’t sleep because of you and suddenly it’s morning already. What do I—_

“I can even sing them to you right now if you’d like.”

Joshua stared at him incredulously. “No, that’s not what I’m asking.”

Wonwoo raised an eyebrow.

Immediately, Joshua understood.

Yes, of course Wonwoo listened to the lyrics. Why wouldn’t he when it’s Joshua singing? Why wouldn’t he when he always looked up the internet after getting home whenever he just heard a new song from Joshua just so he could understand what the older was singing the next time? Why wouldn’t he when he enjoyed their alone sessions just the same?

“Haven’t I said that the song was for you?” Joshua said, hesitantly.

“What?”

This wasn’t how Joshua imagined everything would go. He’d imagined that Wonwoo would’ve understood right when he said to the mic that night that the song was dedicated to someone in the crowd—because who else could Joshua have fallen for if not Wonwoo? He’d imagined that when he got to the backstage and saw Wonwoo there, Wonwoo would’ve recognized the awfully familiar tune and realized that Joshua only ever played it around him. He’d been prepared that night for Wonwoo to either accept his feelings or reject him outright.

Joshua never asked for Wonwoo to run away from what he was about to say.

“What—” Wonwoo started again, eyes trained at the ground in front of them. “But I thought—”

What _did_ he think?

Wonwoo blinked. Twice. Thrice.

Did he really overthink the fact that perhaps Joshua hadn’t known he had been in the crowd that night? And that the song was maybe, just maybe, meant to be for someone else?

“I like you, Wonwoo.”

Wonwoo’s eyes widened. When he turned to look at Joshua, he saw that the tip of Joshua’s ears were tinged pink as he hugged his guitar closer, trying to bury his face behind the huge acoustic body.

“I get it, maybe I’ll just always be that weirdo playing a guitar and singing odd songs to you.” Joshua grimaced at his own words.

The confession hadn’t really sunk in. Wonwoo’s internal processor was working really slowly, perhaps his system was overheating. Even after all those times of listening to Joshua’s hum of love songs and spending nights in each other’s abode, Wonwoo still wouldn’t believe it. His heart had been telling him things about Joshua, but he wouldn’t listen either, thinking it useless to have such feelings for someone as pretty as _that_.

Without realizing, Wonwoo only stared at Joshua, lips slightly parted and eyes unblinking.

“Say something,” Joshua said desperately, “Anything. Reject me or something. Tell me to go, I won’t bother your life anymore if you ask me to.”

At those words, Wonwoo instinctively reached out and took one of Joshua’s hands in his, clasping it securely in fear of the older _actually_ standing up and leaving right then.

“Don’t,” Wonwoo said dumbly, unable to utter anything coherent enough for Joshua to hear.

“Wonwoo.” Joshua was starting to grow exasperated at the behavior. “I’ll still be your friend if you’d like me to.”

_Liar. Those kinds of words were always lies._

Wonwoo frowned. “I don’t want to be your friend.”

Joshua looked _hurt_ at those words, tears starting to sting inside his eyelids as he drew a sharp breath. He pulled on his hand that was still on Wonwoo’s grasp, but Wonwoo wouldn’t budge.

What an idiot, Jeon Wonwoo. To think that it was only a few minutes earlier that Jihoon had called him smart.

“I mean—” Wonwoo stumbled on his own words. “I— Joshua, would it be alright that I want to be your lover?”

Instead of relief or happiness, Joshua only looked angered. “I don’t need your pity.”

_‘Wonwoo, stop fucking up.’_

“No, I mean it.” Wonwoo bit his lip, his palm reaching toward Joshua’s other hand that was still wrapped tightly around his guitar and covered Joshua’s hand in his. “I like you, too.”

“Don’t say things you don’t mean,” Joshua whispered.

Wonwoo started to feel annoyed. For someone who had tried to confess before this, Joshua was stubborn. Why couldn’t he just—

“Wonwoo, what are you doing?” Joshua panicked when Wonwoo took his guitar away and set it aside before moving closer.

Wonwoo cupped Joshua’s cheeks and stared into his eyes. “May I?”

When Joshua didn’t budge or said anything, Wonwoo raised an eyebrow and smiled. “Joshua, I will kiss you now.”

Joshua blinked, and then, “Okay.”

The moment the approval slipped, Wonwoo claimed Joshua’s lips gently as they both closed their eyes. Neither felt the need to rush, so they just moved their lips against each other slowly until Joshua circled his arms around Wonwoo’s neck to pull him closer. When Wonwoo tilted his head to deepen the kiss, Joshua gasped and giggled against Wonwoo’s lips. It made Wonwoo’s heart flutter with the feeling of adoration, he wanted to hear more of it.

Before Wonwoo could pull Joshua to sit on his lap, Joshua realized something as he immediately patted Wonwoo’s chest and pulled away. His eyes were wide in alarm, lips red from the kiss. It took all of Wonwoo’s strength not to feel disappointed at the abruptly ended kiss. The taste of Joshua’s lips still lingered, the way his melodic

“We’re in the middle of campus, Wonwoo.”

“Oh.”

When Wonwoo only smiled sheepishly, Joshua rolled his eyes and disentangled his arm from Wonwoo.

For a few moments, they only stared at each other. Wonwoo wanted to laugh. He couldn’t believe he’d been captivated with Joshua ever since that first time he serenaded him. It’s corny, but it wasn’t exactly love at first sight.

Having Joshua around as a friend had been fun, but Wonwoo realized belatedly that perhaps he always wanted more. Perhaps Wonwoo wanted to kiss him silly or hold his hands in front of their friends. Perhaps Wonwoo wanted to stay over at his dorm and watch him drifting off to sleep. Perhaps Wonwoo wanted to have Joshua serenading him some more, even if it’s from up there on the stage where everyone else could hear him but he’s singing his heart to Wonwoo only.

Perhaps Wonwoo wanted to call Joshua his.

“Well then, now Jeonghan owes me ten bucks and a kiss.”

Startled, Wonwoo jumped back from his position and let his hands fall from cupping Joshua’s cheeks. Joshua was just as bewildered at the voice suddenly interrupting their alone time.

Given, they’re really in the middle of campus.

There in front of them was pretty much the whole gang a.k.a the whole band plus Mingyu, Soonyoung, and Seungcheol. Jihoon had a shit-eating grin on his face as he didn’t even bother to hide it. Maybe he had rights since he’s the one telling Wonwoo to go here earlier. Jeonghan looked pissed while Seungcheol was grinning, and the rest just looked amused.

“I am disappointed in you, Shua.” Jeonghan squinted, pointing an accusing finger at the guitarist.

“Did you really think he would kiss Wonwoo first?” Seungcheol clucked his tongue.

Hearing what they talked about, Joshua immediately realized and his face went red. “I— Why are you guys even here?”

Solid point. None of the guys were even in the same department as Joshua and seeing that they’re in front of his department building…

“Did you really think that dumbass—” Soonyoung pointed at Wonwoo “—would’ve found you if nobody told him?”

Wonwoo frowned. “I take full offense on that.”

Joshua’s eyes widened. “So this was staged?”

Seungcheol scoffed. “Staged or not, it really is about time you guys kiss.”

What was with Seungcheol and his words? Now Wonwoo felt like a high school kid getting caught doing naughty things by his parents. Joshua wasn’t faring better.

Then again, Wonwoo decided it was the absolute right time to reach out and take Joshua’s hand in his.

“Ugh, they’re so in love.”

“Everyone let’s go home, show’s over.”

The crowd around them vanished, leaving just Jeonghan still staring at them.

“On a more serious note, are you guys coming with us to the cafeteria?” Jeonghan smiled and raised an eyebrow.

Joshua cleared his throat and stood up, Wonwoo’s hand still in his. “Yeah, sure.”

Without waiting for the two, Jeonghan turned around and started to skip on his way to catch up with the others.

“Joshua.”

“Yes?”

When Joshua turned to look, Wonwoo landed a peck on his cheek.

It startled Joshua, his hand instinctively going up to touch his reddening cheek. Wonwoo only laughed at the cute look before taking Joshua’s guitar.

“Come on, then,” Wonwoo said.

Joshua smiled and pulled Wonwoo by the hand.

Maybe Joshua wouldn’t mind serenading Wonwoo for a lot of days to come. It’s not like he hadn’t been doing it already, anyway.

**Author's Note:**

> 💕 wonshua is pure y'all why does it only have so few fics.
> 
> note: the 'oh my!' here is not the actual version idk think something more band-like wait does that even make sense...........
> 
> if you ever want to be my friend, hmu on [twitter](https://twitter.com/wintercrystale) or yell at me on [cc](https://curiouscat.me/wintercrystale)!


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